Simplify Your Week with Easy Meal Prep Tips

Meal prepping doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. By selecting a few simple recipes and dedicating some time to preparation, you can easily create a week’s worth of nutritious, ready-to-eat meals. With a solid plan in place, meal prep not only saves time but also brings peace of mind. Having healthy meals ready to go makes your week run more smoothly and helps you stay on track with your health goals—no stress, no detours!

Here are my 6 simple meal prep steps to help you get started:

1. Plan Ahead
Choose three simple meals you enjoy and make a grocery list based on what you’ll need for those recipes. This will help you shop with purpose!. A little planning goes a long way in saving you time later.

2. Batch Cook
Take one or two of your favorite recipes and make extra portions—think double or even triple the usual amount. This way, you’ll have enough leftovers to last you for several days, which cuts down on cooking and prep time. 

3. Use Your Freezer
Freeze cooked vegetables, extra proteins, or homemade soups for those busy nights when you don’t feel like cooking. With these items on hand, you can quickly heat up a nutritious meal with minimal effort.

Proteins can be frozen for up to 3 months, veggies up to 5 months. When freezing soups in jars, leave some space at the top to prevent them from expanding and cracking.

4. Keep Pantry Staples
Sometimes, a quick, healthy meal is just a can of tuna or sardines away. These pantry staples are packed with protein and can be easily added to salads, avocado toasts, or grain bowls. They’re a great go-to when you need something fast and filling, and they last for months.

5. Get Creative with Leftovers
Don’t let leftovers go to waste! Instead of eating the same thing every day, get creative and reinvent them into new meals. Change up the sauce, add some fresh herbs, or serve with a different side dish to give yesterday’s dinner a fresh twist.

6. Use the Right Tools
Invest in some good-quality glass containers, mason jars, and other storage solutions that will keep your meals fresh throughout the week. Glass containers are ideal over plastic to mitigate ingestion of microplastics.

By following these simple steps—you can make meal prepping an easy and effective way to set yourself up for a successful week. Try these strategies this weekend, and watch how much smoother your week becomes!